Young Russian scientist Vladimir Arsenyev has been studying the Ussuri region of the Russian Empire. In the forest, he meets a hunter, Dersu Uzaloy, who becomes his guide and faithful friend. Dersu surprises Arsenyev with his excellent knowledge of the taiga, the ability to read it like an open book and his special relationship with nature. Traveling through the taiga, the group is faced with a tiger, which Dersu banishes with the power of persuasion. This, and many other adventures, some of which threaten life and limb, brings the Russian and Dersu closer together. The Russians must make it to the Sea of Japan by winter, which is rapidly closing in on them. Will Dersu be able to bring them to civilization and safety? This little-known 1961, Soviet version is the worthy predecessor to the 1975 version made by Kurosawa, which brought him back from the brink of a seemingly failed career.

1975

Set in the Asian forests of Imperial Russia around the turn of the century, Dersu Uzala tells of the relationship between a military mapping expedition and an old Tungus trapper who acts as its guide. The soldiers sit in the winter forest at night, uncomfortable and scared. There is a rustle in the bushes and, mastering the temptation to flee, they grab the intruder. He is Dersu, a short, stocky, aging tribesman. He sits by the fire with them and when a log crackles he speaks sharply to it. "Fire is a man," he tells them. "Water is a man, too." The captain, a sensitive intermediary between the brutal confidence of the soldier-surveyors and the mystical trapper, hires him as guide. In a series of episodes, we see Dersu, through the captain's eyes, reveal his total communication with the world he lives in. Seeing footprints, he knows that men have been by two days before and that they are Chinese. Seeing trees with the bark off, he predicts that they will find shelter; and they do. When the party is about to leave the shelter, he insists on repairing the roof first: for anyone else who may come along. In one of the more memorable scenes, Dersu and the captain go out to chart a frozen lake. Kurosawa films the cold as it has rarely, if ever, been filmed. It is a visible, red-eyed enemy; visibly terrifying. The two are lost and Dersu, seeing death, is in total fear. The captain has his civilized schooling to constrain him; he also has a compass. But when the compass ends up failing, then what?

First film adaption of the novel by Erich Kastner: On the way to Berlin, 140 Marks is stolen from the boy Emil Tischbein, which he was supposed to give to his grandmother. The evil-doer is the pickpocket known as "Ground Ice". With the help of "Gustav with the Horn" and his friends, Emil manages to stay on the heels of Mr. Ground Ice. More and more children take part in the pursuit and Ground Ice is finally cornered in a bank. When the police are called to take in the culprit, Emil discovers there's a 100 Mark reward for his capture. Now he's become the Hero of the Day.

On the train to Berlin, Emil Tischbein shares a compartment with the common criminal Grundeis, who sounds out the boy and eventually steals the money he's supposed to bring to his grandmother. Once the train arrives in Berlin, Emil wants to take up the pursuit of the thief, because he can't bear to face his grandmother without the money. With the active help of a few Berlin kids and his cousin Ponyhutchen, the hunt for the criminal begins.

3 DVD SET of the following films sold at a discounted, combined price:

JAN HUS (1st Part of the Hussite Trilogy)

This film corresponds to the first part of the big-budget Hussite Trilogy. Hus is revered for his dogged adherence to his convictions. The magic of these films is in the acting of Stepanek and in the production design. These films lavishly portray the early fifteenth century in details taken directly from artwork and chronicles of the time. Those viewers familiar with modern Prague will find their favorite landmarks only partly finished--the towers of the Tyn Church are still under construction, the Charles Bridge only has one statue, and the Old City hall lacks the Horlogue. These kind of details speak to the meticulous research that went into these films. The costumes are reminiscent of the best designs from American period films produced in the 1930's and 40's, but display a greater variety of looks. The viewer would be hard pressed to find a plain white or stone interior wall anywhere in the films. The painting on the interiors was taken from the backgrounds of illuminated manuscripts and every wall is a riot of color, geometric patterns, and even inflammatory depictions of the Pope. Medievalists and enthusiasts will value these films for the battle scenes.

JAN ZIZKA (2nd Part of the Hussite Trilogy)

This film makes up the second part of The Hussite Trilogy, a big-budget (for Czechoslovakia) historical drama which focused on the life and death of the priest/reformer Jan Hus and the movement known as the Hussite Revolution (ca. 1419-1437). Actor Zdenek Stepanek played both the intellectual preacher Jan Hus and the ingenious general Jan Zizka. Both of these historical characters inhabit a special place in the identity of the Czech Lands. Hus is revered for his dogged adherence to his convictions, but Zizka's legacy is somewhat more problematic because of the violent nature of the uprising he led. While the non-Czech speaker will be confused about the plot, the magic of these films is in the acting of Stepanek and in the production design. These films lavishly portray the early fifteenth century in details taken directly from artwork and chronicles of the time. Those viewers familiar with modern Prague will find their favorite landmarks only partly finished--the towers of the Tyn Church are still under construction, the Charles Bridge only has one statue, and the Old City hall lacks the Horlogue. These kind of details speak to the meticulous research that went into these films. The costumes are reminiscent of the best designs from American period films produced in the 1930's and 40's, but display a greater variety of looks. The viewer would be hard pressed to find a plain white or stone interior wall anywhere in the films. The painting on the interiors was taken from the backgrounds of illuminated manuscripts and every wall is a riot of color, geometric patterns, and even inflammatory depictions of the Pope. Medievalists and enthusiasts will value these films for the battle scenes. Jan Zizka and his Hussite followers were the first warriors to consistently defeat knights in armor with guns and farm implements. The film "Jan Zizka" very carefully portrays the strategies that made this happen. This complex piece of history, rarely discussed outside of the Czech Republic, shows the wane of the mounted knights and the rise of gunpowder as a practical weapon. The film does suffer from enforced Marxist dogma, much like Sergei Eisenstein's epic "Alexander Nevsky." Yet the story is much more complex than "Nevsky," and takes far fewer liberties with acknowledged historical facts. Additionally, "Jan Zizka" embraces fifteenth century aesthetics, and the film's art direction successfully re-creates the designs left behind by Zizka's contemporaries. This aspect alone makes the Hussite Trilogy fascinating viewing.

PROTI VSEM (3rd Part of the Hussite Trilogy)

This film makes up the third and final part of Otakar Vavra's hussite trilogy. 14th July 1420: The crusade army undertook an attack on the Hussite fortress on the hill Vitkov, east of Prague, which assured food supply to the besieged city. The hill is defended by a troop of Taborites under the lead of Jan Zizka. When the fortress of the Hussites is almost conquered by the flood of iron knights, a troop of Taborite flailers leaves the city gates and attacks the crusaders through vineyards on the southern side of the hill. The knights are pressed to the northern steep side of the hill and subsequently flee in panic.

The Childhood of Maxim Gorky (Detstvo Gorkovo) was the first of Russian director Mark Donski's trilogy based upon Gorky's memoirs. Alexei Lyarsky plays the young Maxim, who grows up under the czarist regime with his grandparents as guardians. Continually demeaned by his martinet grandfather, Maxim is drawn to his warm-hearted grandmother, who instills in him the willingness to pursue his writing muse. Gorky's deep abiding love for Russia is conveyed through the film's remarkably romantic landscape shots along the Volga River.

In the second part of the Maxim Gorky Trilogy, coming after The Childhood of Maxim Gorky, young Peshkov is working for a middle-class family, ostensibly as an apprentice to the architect in the family. The matriarch, however, is mean-spirited and does her best to prevent him learning anything. Instead, she harangues Peshkov constantly to perform menial tasks. The boy finds solace in books lent to him by a rich woman. When the family finally kicks him to the curb, he must find his own place in the world.

In the final installment of the Gorky Trilogy (The Childhood of Maxim Gorky; My Apprenticeship), Peshkov is in his later teen years and, too poor to make real his dream of studying in a university, takes a job as a baker working for a rather cruel boss, Semyonov. But Peshkov (Gorky) is now old enough to be aware of his political surroundings and it doesn't take him long to see the road that leads from oppressed worker to the oppressor employer, a realization which, in Russia, eventually led to the revolution to right capitalist wrongs, but instead led to communist oppression, where all were equal, but some men were more equal than others.

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Orphan siblings Hanna and Thomas Amon live together on the farm left to them by their parents, which has belonged to the Amon family for over 300 years. Hanna's sisterly affection for her brother runs deep ... so deep, in fact, that the villagers think it incestuous. So, when Thomas falls in love with the temptress Vera, a fearful jealousy and overprotectiveness grips Hanna.

Another Veit Harlan film, which tries to show the triumph of virtuous human feelings over degenerate and evil passions, but in the end succeeds only in highlighting his fascination with those same evil and corrupt forces. Like most of his films, Hanna Amon leaves the viewer with the feeling of having to scrub one's self intensely in a hot shower after watching the film. His wife Kristina Soederbaum -- always the star in his films -- dies in the end, as usual.

A wager between God and Satan has dire consequences in this allegory based on the play by Jacob Gordin about the material world's false promises. Beware when money sounds sweeter than music, it cautions; those who win lotteries stand to lose all, including their spiritual treasures, families, communities and religion. Poor, pious Torah scribe Hershele Dubrovner has a life that glorifies God until Satan, disguised as a business partner, turns him into a greedy, dishonest factory owner whose success desecrates both his religion and his community. Betrayal and abandonment replace serenity and familiarity; the instruments of good fortune become instruments of death. Not even music, previously Hershele's joy, can heal these rifts.

Vénus aveugle (Blind Venus) is a 1941 French film melodrama, directed by Abel Gance, and one of the first films to be undertaken in France during the German occupation. In the upheaval following the German invasion of France, in the summer of 1940, Abel Gance went to the Free Zone in the south and arranged a contract to make a film at the Victorine studios in Nice. The original title was to be Messaline, drame des temps modernes ("Messalina, a drama of modern times"), but it was later changed to Vénus aveugle. Although the film is not set in any specified period, Gance wanted it to be seen as relevant to the contemporary situation in France.

The beautiful Clarisse learns that she is going blind, and in order to prevent her lover Madére, a boatman, from sacrificing himself for her, she decides to break with him, pretending she no longer loves him. Madère angrily leaves, and Clarisse takes a job as a singer in a harbour bar to support herself and her crippled sister Mireille. When she discovers that she is pregnant, she wants to confess everything to Madère, but he has left on a year-long voyage with a new lover Giselle. Clarisse gives birth to a daughter Violette, and when Madère and Giselle return she learns that they are married and also have a baby daughter. Clarisse's child dies, and she herself becomes completely blind; embittered against men, she withdraws into herself. Mireille tells the truth to Madère, who has separated from Giselle, and he undertakes an elaborate deception to take care of Clarisse, posing as the owner of a yacht on which he wants to take her on a cruise. The yacht is in fact the broken-down boat which used to be their shared home, but all their friends conspire to create the illusion that Clarisse is on a sea voyage. Madère restores the boat in preparation for a real voyage, and just when it is ready, Clarisse tells him she has recognized him and the boat. She accepts his love for her, and simultaneously regains her sight.

Just in time for the opening of the season, things are going topsy-turvy at the “Weisser Roessl” on Lake Wolfgang. The head waiter Leopold is head over heels in love with his boss Jospeha. She, in turn, only has eyes for the gallant Dr. Siedler. But he shamelessly flirts with the pretty daughter of a Berlin industrialist.

The owner of the famous „Weissen Roessl“ on the Wolfgangsee has been courted by a number of guys. Even the headwaiter Leopold has a thing for her – but to his horror, it would seem she’d prefer the hotel guest Dr. Siedler, who, in turn, is in love with someone else! Leopold’s prepared to gamble everything on one roll of the dice: he registers as a guest at the hotel and is thrilled to see how everything falls apart without him there working. And it doesn’t hurt a thing, that some of the female guests think he’s kinda hot, too.

The film's main characters are a reactionary bathhouse owner, whose boyfriend studies theology and sings in a Bach-Choir; a therapist who teaches death meditation and gymnastics to AIDS patients; a female reporter, who's disguised herself as a man and is spying on the gay scene and the AIDS-afflicted; a certain Dr. Blood, who snares the HIV virus in Africa; a minister, who makes false promises; as well as rich queens and revolutionary gay men. This is the first German film which covered the subject of HIV and AIDS. It's a black, satiric comedy, whose protagonists make up the homosexual and transvestite scenes in Berlin and who mirror the first phases of the AIDS panic to strike Germany. It's the film's intention to address the topic of AIDS in a rather gaudy and macabre fashion. At a bleak tea dance for effeminate men, the gay band "Bermuda" sings, "Hurray, we're still alive!" In the end, everyone has AIDS and nurses roll the dice to bet which person will die first. The government rounds up and deports all the infected to sealed-off concentration camps on Hell-Gay-Land Island. Definitely a work of black humor meant to provoke the viewer.

The Winterhilfswerk (WHW) was an annual drive by the Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt (the National Socialist People’s Welfare Organization) to help finance its charitable work. Its slogan was "None shall starve nor freeze". It ran from 1933-1945 and was designed to provide food and fuel to Germans. The Hitlerjugend and Bund Deutscher Mädel were extremely active in collecting for this charity. Donors were often given small souvenir gifts of negligible value as a sign of appreciation for their donations. A typical such gift was a very small propaganda booklet about 0.8" wide x 1.5" tall. More generous donors would receive nicer gifts, such as lapel pins on a wide variety of themes. Each individual miniature book, badge, badge set or toy set was only available for two or three days of a particular collection drive. So the populace would be encouraged to donate the following week and thereby collect the latest in the series.

In honor of the Tag der Wehrmacht, the WHW put out a series of booklets in the Winter of 1942-43 with fallen heroes of the Wehrmacht, all Knights Cross Bearers.

Each booklet is 2 3/4" x 2" and have 7 pages with pictures and descriptions.

54-paged military ID issued in 1940 to a 39 year old with entries up to 1944. The ID indicates the holder as being a driver in civilian life and coming originally from Frankfurt an der Oder, as well as having completed eight years of schooling. He was called up as a draftee in July 1940 into the Landwehr. There is also a supplemental stamp in the book from the Kommandeur in Hersfeld on 10 February 1944 indicating the ID holder as being physically able to serve at the frontlines. There are entries on six of the pages. On the first page, two pieces of tape have been put over tears in the page. The ID comes with its protective cover as well.

54-paged military ID issued in 1940 to a 38 year old with entries up to 1944. The ID indicates the holder as being from Iserlohn and working in the construction industry. Unfortunately, while the ID holder's photo is attached to the page, there is a tear from its bottom reaching as far as the signature line. Page 5 indicates his being called up on 05 December 1939, 29 June 1940 and 22 July 1943 into the Ersatz-Reserve. There is also a pass cover, which is, unfortunately, torn on the sides. There is also a Wehrpass-Notiz F from 24 March 1943 included. There are entries and stamps on 17 of the pages.

Kennkarte issued in the Generalgouvernement to a Pole. The ID card was temporarily used in liberated Poland after the War and thus has the eagle and swastika cut out on the bottom, like many such cards.

This ID card was issued on 18 January 1944 and was valid until 18 January 1949. The ID holder was a 39 year old woman as of the date of issue.

Identity card issued in occupied Amstetten on 05 September 1946. Like Germany, Austria was divided among the four occupying authorities. Amstetten, part of Lower Austria, was under Russian occupation until 1955. The statistics of the card's holder had to be filled out four times, identically in German, French, English and Russian. Thus, the document consisted of 6 pages (the first two of which are shown here). The holder of this document was 70 at the time of its issuance.

Identity card issued in occupied Amstetten on 03 September 1946. Like Germany, Austria was divided among the four occupying authorities. Amstetten, part of Lower Austria, was under Russian occupation until 1955. The statistics of the card's holder had to be filled out four times, identically in German, French, English and Russian. Thus, the document consisted of 6 pages (the first two of which are shown here). The holder of this document was 64 at the time of its issuance.

1955-issued passport with 14 pages. On the back page is an indication that the passport was printed in (Soviet) Ukraine in 1952 and, indeed, the headings on each page are in both Russian and Ukrainian. The holder of the passport is a 51 year old woman the passport identifies as being of Russian nationality and living in Voronezh (near Kharkov in eastern Ukraine, which, even today, is largely populated by Russians. The all-important "Category 5" on the passport indicates her "social class"; in this case, "worker". There are entries on 5 of the pages. While intact, the pages are wrinkled, have edge cuts and are slightly loose.

Distributed over more than a 2-year period in the 1970s, each issue contained specific topics concerning the Second World War. Each issue has 28 pages. The page numbers for this issue and its main topics are:

Distributed over more than a 2-year period in the 1970s, each issue contained specific topics concerning the Second World War. Each issue has 28 pages. The page numbers for this issue and its main topics are: